An invitation

Merlin shivered in trepidation when faced with the coldness of his boss. Terrence was seated languidly on a large couch in the living room however unlike before when his attention was glued to the movie and his eyes calm, now, his gray eyes were as dim as cloudy skies brewing with a heavy storm.

His face contained a certain indifference that bred from rage; it was like the calm before the storm. Quite literally.

"Sir…" Merlin started, deciding to place a gamble with the crazy suggestion he was about to make, "Should I call Elara?"

What followed was dreary silence which permeated through the space as Terrence's cloudy eyes gazed at him with an unfathomable expression and for a split minute, Merlin wondered if he was done for. But then Terrence nodded and he watched in shock as the male's stormy eyes cleared up to reveal unbridled affection within them.

Merlin: ???

"What are you waiting for?" Terrence's gruff voice snapped him out of his daze.

"S-sorry boss! I'll go immediately," Merlin stuttered stupidly before disappearing.

'Boss… aren't you too far gone?! Ah, this hopeless romantic!'

*** 

Elara was busy chilling in the library while completing her manuscript when her phone rang and seeing the caller, she immediately went outside to take the call.

"Terry…" she began sweetly only to be cut off by Terrence.

"Ela."

"Terry…."

"Ela."

"….." 

"….."

"T–"

"Ela." 

Elara: (>_<)

"Terry stop that," speaking fast enough to not get interrupted by the male this time, Elara cautioned indulgingly.

"But I don't want to, I'm so… sad," Terrence replied with a sad voice leaving Elara dumbfounded. 

Mr. CEO aren't you OOCing a bit too much?! Why are you acting so…. cute?! 

"An–Terry, what is it? Is something wrong? Anything I can help you with? Speak up, I'll do everything within my power!"

'Although I can't even do that much which is very frustrating.'

Behind the phone Terrence's sigh came through and he replied with a crestfallen voice, "I was invited back home…."

"… That's a bad thing?" Elara wondered out loud.

If she had been invited home she'd be so excited and would spend a whole day picking out gifts for the family. Although, her family barely invited her back home to avoid disturbing her, so she was the one who mostly took the initiative to go home and every time was a joyous event for her.

But it wasn't for Terrence, huh?

"I don't like visiting my family," Terrence whined, his voice dropping down a notch to show his displeasure.

 Elara's eyes softened as she spoke with care, "Don't worry, I'm here for you."

"You'll go with me?" Terrence suggested.

"If you want to. But you'll have to tell me if it'll reach Monday so I'll take an official leave from work…" Elara trailed off, seriously considering leaving with Terrence causing him to burst out laughing cheerfully.

"You're so eager anyone would think you wanted this from the start," Terrence teased.

"Of course, I like spending time with you," Elara replied seriously knocking him off his feet.

Why was she able to say such things without being embarrassed??

"Ha… you sure are one of a kind Ela…"

Elara: ?

"Okay…?"

"Well, there's no way I can put you out before them, so you're not coming with me. So what now?"

Terrence asked teasingly. He simply wanted to speak to Elara to clear his bad mood but now he was getting invested. Something about Elara's ability to say and do embarrassing stuff unblushingly left one wanting to make her shy.

"Do you have your emotional support plushie then?" Elara asked seriously.

"… You mean the squealing fox? Yeah, I have it."

"Is it a strict no-call situation?"

"No."

"Then, we'll do this. Every morning, noon and night, I'll send you cute videos and if you're available we can have a VC," Elara considered seriously, "And… I'll always be there with you call or no call, as the fox plushie, even while you can't contact me."

Terrence who had been trying to control himself, couldn't any longer and thus burst out laughing uncontrollably; his laughter was cool and held an underlying feeling of true cheerfulness within.

"You're so funny Ela, unfortunately, it's in Tokyo so the time difference might not permit us…" Terrence spoke with laughter in his voice.

"I don't care, I'll just adjust my schedule," Elara responded stubbornly.

Terrence chuckled softly, "You'll do that for me?"

"I can't have you feeling all depressed Terry," Elara replied in all seriousness.

Terrence smiled softly, if anyone else had said so he'd have regarded it as a joke but Elara wasn't just anyone. She meant every bit of what she said. She was Elara and was a tiny bit… okay, very strange. Though, in a great way.

"Don't worry Ela, as long as we're able to contact each other then I'm fine," Terrence said softly.

Elara sighed, "Okay. But don't hesitate to call if you need me."

"Alright."

"Do I have some comfort food delivered to you? And more plushies, after all, more plushies means more me."

Terrence chuckled, "Okay, as long as the food was made by you."

"Who else would make it?"

"That's awesome then."

"You'll be fine… okay?" Elara coaxed.

'Actually, I'm already feeling great with just this…' Terrence thought gleefully.

"Mmhm."

"Goodbye."

Terrence stared at his phone with a slight frown after the call ended, he had thought, even expected, that Elara would hesitate a bit before ending the call, but as always, she straightforwardly ended it as soon as she was done.

"Hmph."

Merlin: What did you expect dude? It's not like she's your girlfriend(⌒-⌒)ノ

Seeing his boss's gloomy demeanor varnish with just a few words with his 'friend', Merlin began to understand why this dude was a hopeless romantic. Any genuine act of care or affection he tended to value deeply, however most people who entered his life either had intents or would eventually fall out of love for various reasons.

He had been abandoned and betrayed so many times, even when he was with him and before he came along yet any act of love that came from a point of sincerity would always have him hooked. His boss… no matter how elite he was, was still a child searching for love inside.

'Dear lord, please pity this poor child, the relationship with his family is already bad enough,' Merlin thought melancholically.

Just then, Terry's distant eyes met his; calm, almost to an eerie state and possessing a certain shrewdness within them that was very unnerving and all of a sudden, Merlin felt like laughing at himself, how could he forget?

Terrence might possess the heart of a child seeking love and affection however his mind was that of an intelligent elite who you'd rather not mess with. After all, had it not been for that, with how susceptible he was to love… wouldn't he have lost everything by now?

Being surrounded by snakes did such to a person. He had learned to be shrewd enough to not only hide but to also have complete control of his flaws or the vipers would rip him to shreds.

From a young age, the male had been through a lot. His family was cruel, however, he couldn't bring himself to hate them because they taught him all he knew–especially how to not be easily deceived.

However, trauma was trauma no matter how justifiable it seemed and he would never forget the terror they caused him. He hated his family… despite his love for them. 

 ***

After the conversation, Elara made sure to follow up with her promise and a day later Terrence was off to Tokyo. The time difference was insane, but Elara was determined to keep in touch and after sending him a bunch of homemade meals and snacks filled with her desire for his safety and comfort, she bade him farewell.

Merlin who was jealous that even he who had a wife never had such a heartfelt send-off decided he'd have to complain to his wife later on. He also wanted homemade comfort food!

A day passed since then, and by the time Elara was sure Terrence had arrived at his destination and had completely adjusted, Elara decided it was time to call him despite not being contacted first. Putting the time difference in mind, she called him at a time when she was sure he wouldn't be asleep.

After a while, the video call connected and soon Terrence picked up. Elara's face beamed with a smile as she spoke… or wanted to when she noticed Terry's condition and felt a tremor run through her.

"W-who…. Who…. WHO DID THIS?!"

A/N: Please support me with PS guys! I'd really appreciate!